HE was just five years old when he first marched proudly alongside his “hero”, grandfather John “Jack” Finn.

Until yesterday Alex McKinnon had rarely missed an Anzac Day service to honour his late “Pop”, a WWII serviceman, and the fighting men like him.

But with the same sort of courage and spirit that Australians celebrate every year on April 25, the injured Newcastle Knights NRL star refuses to give up hope he will one day march again.

McKinnon yesterday spoke publicly for the first time since suffering the horrific neck injury in a game against Melbourne a month ago that left everyone fearing he may never walk again.

Clearly a fighter, McKinnon revealed he has experienced further movement in his arms and crucially, now has some feeling in his legs.

Alex McKinnon and fiancee Teigan Power on the red carpet at the Dally M Medal awards in SSource:News Corp Australia

Despite two operations to repair multiple neck fractures that left him in an induced coma for almost a week following the tackle gone wrong, a courageous McKinnon insisted it was only “a matter of time” before he was able to get some movement in his legs.

“It’s been a pretty tough month but there is a lot of improvements and those are the things that are keeping me going,” McKinnon said.

“ I’ve got a great family and they’ve been here every day. I’ve got a great partner (fiancee Teigan Power).

“I think it was only last night I was saying: ‘I wish I could do something else, I wish I was better’ and she said: ‘you are better compared to two weeks ago. You were lying in a bed in Melbourne’.

“I’ve obviously come a long way in the four weeks. I’ve got a lot more movement back in my right arm and a lot of movement back in my left arm.

“It’s just a matter of time before, hopefully, I get more movement in my legs. I’ve got a great sensation of feeling through my legs. It’s a lot of positive signs.”

In Year 6 I did a history (project), it was on ‘your hero’, and I did it on my grandfather ... I think I marched when I was five years old and I’ve marched almost every year since then.

McKinnon picked a significant date to break his silence on his recovery — it was on Anzac Day last year he revealed his grandfather was a source of inspiration.

‘‘In Year 6 I did a history (project), it was on ‘your hero’, and I did it on him,’’ he told a local newspaper at the time.

‘‘I had to go through his whole life. Looking back on it, it was a great thing. I learned about him and his family.

‘‘I think I marched when I was five years old and I’ve marched almost every year since then.

‘‘My first year up here at the Knights, last year, me and Kurt (Gidley) and Mase (Willie Mason) went to the Dawn Service.

“I went and did that this morning again, on my lonesome. It’s good. It gives you time to think.’’

McKinnon expects to spend at least another two months in Sydney’s Royal North Shore hospital spinal rehabilitation unit, where he is working with specialists every day.

“It entails two sessions a day of physio which is pretty much just getting my legs moving and my arms moving,” McKinnon said yesterday.

“Obviously not moving much during the day in the last four weeks, they’re a bit stiff so it does help a lot getting them moving — a lot of occupational therapy which is a lot of picking up small things.

“I was playing Connect Four yesterday, which was fun. Frustrating, but fun, and trying to do little things like that.

“Rehab’s good here. It’s a very nice place and I’m very lucky. I’ve got to hopefully go over to Ryde after two months and start a few little other things there and hopefully, the progress keeps going.”

McKinnon said being away from teammates had been tough and admitted he cried watching a clip of the tribute afforded him by the club when the Knights played Cronulla more than three weeks ago.

“One of the things I miss the most is seeing the boys and being around them,” he said.

“Them coming down makes me so happy. It makes my week to tell you the truth.

“Even some of the things they’ve done for me. Even the Cronulla game, I still haven’t watched the game.

“I’ve watched maybe a clip of it that went for about two minutes and I was in tears straight away.”

Clearly in love ... Alex and Teigan.Source:Facebook

Teigan and Alex became engaged after his injury.Source:Facebook

McKinnon described the support he has received since the injury as “overwhelming”.

“Once we get through this little journey, I really do intend going to see everyone.

“I’d love to thank everyone that’s put their hand out to help, and I’m sure will still put their hand out and help in a few months’ time.

“Even the nurses down in Melbourne, they had me for two weeks. I’d love to go down to the Albert Hospital and see them. I can’t emphasise how much I really do appreciate the support and how much it is helping me, even with cards or messages from people in Sweden or New Zealand or people that don’t know me.”

McKinnon said the support from his family and his fiancé Teigan Power had been a constant: “I would really like to thank my mum and dad and obviously my partner Teigan.”

“I’ve got an unbelievable family and I could never thank them enough.

“I would really like to thank the Newcastle Knights. They’ve been a great help for me and especially my family the last four weeks, just really looking after them with accommodation and the little things. Hopefully, I get to see them all soon and everyone else at a game, which I would really enjoy.”

March a must for true blue grandson

ALEX McKinnon’s grandfather John ‘Jack’ Finn was just three weeks shy of his 19th birthday when he walked into Royal Australian Air Force’s enlistment office in Marrickville in 1943 to do his part for King and country in WWII.

At the same age McKinnon was playing for the St George-Illawarra U/20s, dreaming of breaking into first grade.

McKinnon made his first grade debut for the Dragons under then-coach Wayne Bennett in 2011, the same year his “Pop’’ passed away.

Born in Quirindi in 1924, Finn rose to the rank of Leading Aircraftman in WWII before his discharge in April, 1946.

Alex McKinnon has rarely missed an Anzac Day march to remember his ‘hero’ grandfather JohSource:Supplied

Finn worked on the railways in Sydney on his return before moving to McKinnon’s home town of Aberdeen, where he raised a family after his sister and brother-in-law purchased the Commercial Hotel in the Upper Hunter Valley town.

McKinnon told a local newspaper last year how he idolised his grandfather and marched with him on Anzac Day every year from the age of five.

McKinnon also described his decision to attend last year’s Dawn Service by himself adding that, since his grandfather’s passing, he relished the opportunity to pause and pay tribute to his grandfather and his Pop’s fellow servicemen who served Australia.

‘‘I was up at 4.20am — I love that type of stuff,’’ he said.

He might have looked up to plenty of rugby league greats but there was only one hero in McKinnon’s life.

Positive early sign but still a long wait

EXPERIENCING sensation in the legs soon after a spinal injury is a positive and necessary sign of recovery but it could still be two years before patients in such situations will know for sure if they will ever walk again.

Dr Susan Rutkowski, a director of spinal cord ­injury outpatient services and research at Royal North Shore Hospital, ­yesterday gave her expert view following encouraging improvements reported by injured footballer Alex McKinnon.

Alex McKinnon goes down as he is tackled. Picture: Fox Sports screengrabSource:FoxSports

Though unprepared to comment on McKinnon’s injury, Dr Rutkowski said chances of recovery from serious neck fractures such as McKinnon’s were usually gauged on a combination of early signs of encouragement and steady, longer-term gains of sensation and movement.

“In a general sense, the sooner after the injury there is some sensation below the level of the injury, the better the recovery will be,” Dr Rutkowski said. “But unfortunately some people will only ever experience sensation and have no function, so it’s very hard.

“Ninety per cent of recovery will occur before two years. If they haven’t had that level of recovery after two years, it is usually a sign it won’t occur.”

Dr Rutkowski said the majority of spinal injuries didn’t sever the spinal cord, but rather do damage by “squashing” the neck, as seen in the McKinnon case.

The potential for recovery lies in undamaged nerve fibres in the spinal cord.

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